this time of year is notorious for being slow, with vacations and budgets winding down, little seems to be going on. so if you are looking for ways to keep yourself occupied and sharpen your design skills, here are a few games to occupy your time:

one of our very own brandlings, alex henderson, is featured in a show of local artists at the malton gallery until december 24th. stop by the gallery and support the local art community.

happy and safe holidays!

when you see great design, it can be inspiring. when you see a company consistently making a commitment to great design it really makes you stop and marvel. general electric is one of those companies that habitually offers its consumers great visual communication. there are several partners GE has consistently relied on to bring their designs to life:

BBDO is responsible for GE’s broadcast advertising efforts,

camille kubie notes that GE works with “several different designers on data visualization and infographics. primarily ben fry and his company, fathom.” for more information on data designers you can visit GE’s data visualization blog,

and the GE show is developed by the barbarian group.

we asked camille about GE’s design policy and strategy, and here is what she had to say: “we definitely do seek exceptional design as part of our over-arching brand strategy. the GE brand is all about imagination and innovation that make a real difference in the world. great design is key to communicating those elements of our company. more generally, great design is important in telling any story. people are so inundated with content, if yours isn’t visually compelling, people won’t spend their time with it.”

here are some other links to notable GE projects:
1 // ted installation
2 // GE’s ecomagination site
3 // MOMA talk to me exhibit
4 // VSA partners work with GE

oh what a world it would be, if all brands saw the potential great design can provide.

it is rather common to hear across the media that print is dying. with the popularization of technology like tablet e-readers, this harbinger does not seem so remote. while you can find evidence for, and debate both sides of the argument, it is interesting to look at the ways the print industry is trying to cope with this projected “imminent doom.”

one of the ways the book industry is attempting to stimulate interest in a new release seems to be taking cues from the movie business. more and more often you will find a trailer promo for books that are featured on websites and passed around blogs. only time will tell how successful these tactics will be at staving off extinction. do you feel more inclined to seek a printed copy of a book when you see a video promotion? what adaptations do you think are working for the print industry? what do you think the industry should do to stay relevant, or should it be allowed to become the product of the past?

here are some promotions for the printed word:

the creative process seems to mesmerize creators and consumers alike. both demographics, i am sure, have at one time or another been party to the awkwardness of the curious peering over the maker’s shoulder, hypnotized. this blog, called behind the process, removes the discomfort of physically looking over someone’s shoulder and still gets at all of the great behind-the-scenes experience.